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New Smyrna hotelier plans property bid to dock riverboat

Published: Friday, June 1, 2012 at 5:30 a.m.

Last Modified: Wednesday, August 15, 2012 at 2:16 p.m.

NEW SMYRNA BEACH -- The owner of the Riverview Hotel said he will submit a bid to lease city-owned property off the North Causeway with the hopes of docking the historic Delta Queen riverboat there as an 88-room hotel.

Wayne Heller -- who along with his wife, Judy, bought the Riverview on Flagler Avenue last year -- previously said he wasn't sure he would participate in the city's process for soliciting proposals for the 160 N. Causeway site.

The city has set a 2 p.m. July 18 deadline to accept bids for the lease and development of the 5-acre property.

Heller, who has a letter of intent to purchase the vessel, initially said he had hoped to buy and move the boat before the start of hurricane season, which begins today. Heller is vacationing out of the country but responded to an email requesting comment about his intentions.

"We are going (to) submit a bid and I have a team currently working on it," he said in the email.

Heller still has to purchase the vessel, which is now moored in Chattanooga, Tenn., where it has been a floating hotel since 2009. The boat is owned by Xanterra Parks and Resorts.

"My legal team is finalizing the terms of the purchase," Heller wrote in the email.

Heller would also have to meet requirements from the U.S Coast Guard, the Florida Department of Environmental Protection and the Florida Inland Navigation District if he brings the boat to New Smyrna Beach. He would also have to satisfy the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers that the 285-foot-long boat does not stick out in the channel and pose a navigational hazard.

The Delta Queen, built in 1927, is a National Historic Landmark. For decades, it served as a passenger vessel on the Ohio and Mississippi rivers. The riverboat operated under a special congressional exemption from the 1966 Federal Safety at Sea Law, which forbids any boat constructed of wood from carrying 50 overnight passengers. That exemption expired in 2008, but a group called Save the Delta Queen has tried to get the boat back in operation as a passenger vessel.

The Delta Queen has never been on the agenda of the New Smyrna Beach City Commission, but it has garnered a lot of discussion -- mostly during time allotted for public comment -- at its meetings since April, after Heller proposed bringing the boat to the city.

Commissioners say they have been deluged by emails, both from supporters who want to see the vessel in New Smyrna Beach as well as riverboat enthusiasts who want to see it stay in Chattanooga.

Leah Ann Ingram, who along with her husband operates the Delta Queen, told the Chattanooga Times Free Press in a May 21 story that while the boat would stay on the market, she hopes it could remain in Chattanooga.

"It's great for the city," she told the Free Press. "Occupancy's doing well. On the weekends we're close to being full."

Ingram could not be reached for comment Thursday.

According to New Smyrna Beach's current schedule, the proposals for the North Causeway property would be presented to the City Commission in September and a lease agreement would be finalized and voted on by the commission in December. However, City Manager Pam Brangaccio said at a meeting last month that the proposals could be ready to be reviewed by commissioners as early as August.

No bids have been formally submitted yet for the property, said City Finance Director Althea Philford.

The city sent out a request for proposal for the Causeway property last year, which yielded one response. An Orlando restaurateur proposed a waterfront grill called Chicken Island, which was ultimately rejected by a task force formed by the city.

<p><p>NEW SMYRNA BEACH -- The owner of the Riverview Hotel said he will submit a bid to lease city-owned property off the North Causeway with the hopes of docking the historic Delta Queen riverboat there as an 88-room hotel. </p></p><p><p>Wayne Heller -- who along with his wife, Judy, bought the Riverview on Flagler Avenue last year -- previously said he wasn't sure he would participate in the city's process for soliciting proposals for the 160 N. Causeway site. </p></p><p><p>The city has set a 2 p.m. July 18 deadline to accept bids for the lease and development of the 5-acre property. </p></p><p><p>Heller, who has a letter of intent to purchase the vessel, initially said he had hoped to buy and move the boat before the start of hurricane season, which begins today. Heller is vacationing out of the country but responded to an email requesting comment about his intentions. </p></p><p><p>"We are going (to) submit a bid and I have a team currently working on it," he said in the email. </p></p><p><p>Heller still has to purchase the vessel, which is now moored in Chattanooga, Tenn., where it has been a floating hotel since 2009. The boat is owned by Xanterra Parks and Resorts. </p></p><p><p>"My legal team is finalizing the terms of the purchase," Heller wrote in the email. </p></p><p><p>Heller would also have to meet requirements from the U.S Coast Guard, the Florida Department of Environmental Protection and the Florida Inland Navigation District if he brings the boat to New Smyrna Beach. He would also have to satisfy the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers that the 285-foot-long boat does not stick out in the channel and pose a navigational hazard. </p></p><p><p>The Delta Queen, built in 1927, is a National Historic Landmark. For decades, it served as a passenger vessel on the Ohio and Mississippi rivers. The riverboat operated under a special congressional exemption from the 1966 Federal Safety at Sea Law, which forbids any boat constructed of wood from carrying 50 overnight passengers. That exemption expired in 2008, but a group called Save the Delta Queen has tried to get the boat back in operation as a passenger vessel. </p></p><p><p>The Delta Queen has never been on the agenda of the New Smyrna Beach City Commission, but it has garnered a lot of discussion -- mostly during time allotted for public comment -- at its meetings since April, after Heller proposed bringing the boat to the city. </p></p><p><p>Commissioners say they have been deluged by emails, both from supporters who want to see the vessel in New Smyrna Beach as well as riverboat enthusiasts who want to see it stay in Chattanooga. </p></p><p><p>Leah Ann Ingram, who along with her husband operates the Delta Queen, told the Chattanooga Times Free Press in a May 21 story that while the boat would stay on the market, she hopes it could remain in Chattanooga. </p></p><p><p>"It's great for the city," she told the Free Press. "Occupancy's doing well. On the weekends we're close to being full." </p></p><p><p>Ingram could not be reached for comment Thursday. </p></p><p><p>According to New Smyrna Beach's current schedule, the proposals for the North Causeway property would be presented to the City Commission in September and a lease agreement would be finalized and voted on by the commission in December. However, City Manager Pam Brangaccio said at a meeting last month that the proposals could be ready to be reviewed by commissioners as early as August. </p></p><p><p>No bids have been formally submitted yet for the property, said City Finance Director Althea Philford. </p></p><p><p>The city sent out a request for proposal for the Causeway property last year, which yielded one response. An Orlando restaurateur proposed a waterfront grill called Chicken Island, which was ultimately rejected by a task force formed by the city.</p> </p><p>-----</p>